Wellington Zoo is proud to be hosting The Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia (ZAA) 2018 Conference in Wellington
from May 21 – May 24; with over 200 delegates from around the world attending.
Delegates from local and international zoos, aquariums, government departments, councils, universities, and conservation
NGOs will be just some of the attendees at the three-day conference at Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Museum of New
Zealand and additional events and workshops at Wellington Zoo.
“We’re really excited to be hosting this year’s biennial ZAA Conference in Wellington and I’m personally looking forward
to hearing from other Australasian zoos, aquariums and other worldwide organisations that are all working together for
animals, people and our environment,” says Chief Executive of Wellington Zoo, Karen Fifield MNZM.
“The ZAA Conference will be opened by the Minister of Conservation, Hon Eugenie Sage. We’re also thrilled that we’ll be
hearing from Dr Jenny Gray, the President of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums at the conference. The Zoo
profession is collaborative globally, so it is important for us to have the world view of what is happening.”
“Some of our delegates are travelling from as far afield as Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA and Hong Kong to
attend this conference. This event is a great opportunity for other like-minded individuals and organisations to come
together to showcase their work in the environmental and conservation space and develop partnerships for future
collaboration.”
Key Speakers at the conference include Josh Kempinski, Country Director of Fauna & Flora International (FFI) Vietnam – one of the Zoo’s Conservation Partners; Martin Kessick, Deputy Director-General,
Biodiversity at NZ Department of Conservation and Dr Michael Looker, Country Director NZ at The Nature Conservancy.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Josh Kempinski from FFI Vietnam back to Wellington as one of our Key Speakers at this
year’s conference. FFI are just one of the many conservation projects that we support through the Zoo’s Conservation
Fund and last year Josh represented FFI at Wild Ideas, the Zoo’s Conservation Symposium in March,” says Karen.
“All of the delegates attending the ZAA Conference have a passion for conservation and animals; we each share the same
understanding of the importance of a collaborative approach towards saving animals in the wild, working with communities
and how it can help the planet. We’re looking forward to welcoming the various attendees to New Zealand and showcasing
how we are all doing our part in leading the way for a more sustainable future.”
“The last time we hosted the conference was in 2007, and Wellington Zoo has changed significantly since then. Wellington
Zoo has a great reputation globally as a progressive zoo, so it is nice to be able to welcome our colleagues here so
they can see what we’re all about,” says Karen.
As part of the 2018 ZAA Conference, Wellington Zoo will be hosting a range of meetings as well as additional workshops
and training courses for the delegates to attend; including an Animal Welfare workshop, Australasian Society of Zoo
Keepers (ASZK) training course, Engagement and Environmental Sustainability Advisory Groups workshops.
ends